Chess ∙ vs Chess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chess ∙
Experience a visually appealing and engaging chess game on your iPhone and iPod Touch. Play against friends or a customizable AI opponent with features like undo and automatic saving. Enjoy a free, ad-supported experience.
- 1 and 2 player gameplay
- Challenging computer opponent
- Great graphics and sound
- Configurable difficulty
- Undo function
- Automatic save
Read full descriptionHide full description
Are you tired of playing chess games that look like they were designed for a Commodore 64 instead of an iPhone? We've got the antidote for you. Chess Free is the best chess game for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and it's free! Chess Free supports both 1 player and 2 player gameplay, so you can play against friends or test your skills against a challenging computer opponent. Chess Free offers a host of exciting features, including: * Great graphics and exciting sound effects * Configurable player names and score tracking * Outstanding AI engine with configurable difficulty level * Board rotation for two player games * Undo function * Automatic save when you get a phone call or exit the application Chess Free is supported by unobtrusive banner advertising. Chess Premium is the same great app without the ads.
Chess
Practice chess and enhance your strategic thinking with this classic board game app. It offers multiple difficulty levels to play against the computer, a two-player offline mode, and over 1,000 tactical puzzles to solve. Review your games to learn from mistakes and improve your skills.
- Play against computer with 10 difficulty levels
- Two-player offline mode
- Over 1,000 chess puzzles
- Create custom puzzles
- Game review and analysis
- 2D and 3D board styles
Read full descriptionHide full description
Chess is a classic intellectual board game enjoyed by millions of players around the world. This app helps you practice chess, improve your thinking skills, sharpen tactics, and develop visual memory — anytime, anywhere. Key Features • Play against the computer Choose from 10 difficulty levels, from beginner to very challenging opponents. • Two-player offline mode Play locally with friends on the same device. • Chess puzzles Solve over 1,000 carefully selected puzzles to improve tactical awareness and calculation. • Create your own puzzles Set up positions freely and challenge yourself, friends, or the computer to find the best move. • Game review Review played games to learn from mistakes and improve future performance. • Multiple board styles Switch between clean 2D and immersive 3D chess boards. This chess app is suitable for beginners and experienced players alike. We continuously improve the experience and welcome all feedback.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chess ∙ at none against Chess's 4. Chess ∙ also leads on rating (4.5 vs 4.1) and ratings volume (205K vs 32). Chess's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (83% vs 57%). On price and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Chess sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Chess ∙ asks for nothing beyond the download.
Chess ∙ holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess ∙ has 205K ratings behind it against 32, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 57% of Chess ∙'s written reviews are positive against 83% of Chess's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, Chess monthly. Both last shipped on September 29, 2026.
| Parameter | Chess ∙ | Chess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (205K ratings) — better | 4.1 (32 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 56.9% of reviews | 83.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 205K — better | 32 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #91 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 84 MB | 178 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Optime Software LLC | Van Kien Bui |
Customer experience
Chess ∙
Chess
Bugs and requests
Chess ∙
Reported bugs
10 issues- Rook being able to move diagonally
- Stalemate glitch where it will preemptively call stalemate before it even happens
- Call stalemate when only the king can't move, and the other pieces can still move
- Pieces move too fast
- Doesn't allow en-passant moves by pawns
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Refuses to allow legitimate win, claims draw instead
- Doesn't recognize stalemate
- Doesn't recognize checkmate
- Pieces disappearing
- Illegal moves by the AI
Requested features
6 requests- Undo from stalemate
- Highland opponents last move in green and my last move in blue
- Allow a third level of zoom to fill the screen
- Display a numeric value when difficulty slider is moved
- Ability to turn off safety where you can't move king to where it would get taken out
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Ability to turn off draw by stalemate rule
Chess
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Chess ∙
No in-app purchases
Chess
- 10 Hints Pack$0.99
- Remove Ads$1.99
- 50 Hints Pack$2.99
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- 150 Hints Pack$6.99









